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Who Would You Battle in the Ultimate Game Industry Boss Fight?
In today’s battle-hardened edition of Speak Up on Kotaku, commenter Dracosummoner asks you to square off against a corporate executive, developer, designer, or member of the gaming press in your ultimate game industry boss fight. Cue battle music! If you could face off against any major gaming figure (other than Bobby Kotick, get creative!) in…
By Mike Fahey Published July 5, 2011 -
Seven Lessons Activision and EA could Learn From Zynga
Zynga’s massive billion dollar public offering came packed with plenty of insight into the company behind FarmVille and Mafia Wars. There’s even a few lessons that Activision and Electronic Arts could stand to learn… or relearn. According to Zynga founder Mark Pincus, the company’s success is built on encouraging “entrepreneurship and intelligent risk taking to…
By Brian Crecente Published July 4, 2011 -
How Zynga’s Billions Stack Up Against EA, Nintendo and Other Gaming Giants
The people who make FarmVille, CityVille and Empires & Allies think their company’s stock will be worth at least $1 billion when they go public. The New York Times thinks the company’s value could go up to $20 billion However it adds up, Zynga is clearly a huge player in modern video games. How do…
By Stephen Totilo Published July 1, 2011 -
Real World Modern Warfare 2 Maps Highlight of Call of Duty Convention
This fall Call of Duty fans will be able to shoot up their friends in real-world, life-sized replicas of two of the game’s maps, grab a bite to eat at the game’s fictional burger joint and get their hands on Modern Warfare 3 months before its release as part of a video game convention designed…
By Brian Crecente Published June 30, 2011 -
Bobby Kotick Didn’t Buy Myspace & Friendster is Now a Social Gaming Site
Activision boss Bobby Kotick didn’t buy Myspace. Someone else will for a measly $35 million (considerably less than the $580 million IGN owner News Corp. paid in 2005). Furthermore, also-dying social network Friendster is now a social gaming hub
By Michael McWhertor Published June 29, 2011 -
Shangri-La’s Moving Walls, Nasty Monkeys and Pungee Traps
Is it just me or are these zombie maps for Call of Duty: Black Ops getting increasingly complex with each new download pack? This time around map pack Annihilation gamers get a chance to take on the zombies of the fabled city of Shangri-La. That means angry little monkeys, some neat pungee traps and lots…
By Brian Crecente Published June 29, 2011 -
Activision Makes Transformers Video Games, So Does Its Biggest Rival
Our intern Joshua Rivera was as disappointed with Activision’s Xbox 360 Transformers: Dark of the Moon video game as I was with the original mold for Galvatron. The Activision game made him feel like a clumsy Autobot. Activision also published PS3, Wii, DS and 3DS games based on this weekend’s Transformers movie. We didn’t test…
By Stephen Totilo Published June 28, 2011 -
Aliens, Arcades, Pulsing Apples: These Are Call of Duty‘s Latest Multiplayer Maps
The Annihilation map pack for Call of Duty: Black Ops just hit the Xbox 360 bringing with it four new multiplayer maps and another zombie-killing cooperative adventure. Here’s a quick look at the multiplayer maps Drive-in, Hanger 18, Hazard and Silo. There’s some interesting little things in each of the maps. Hanger 18 seems to…
By Brian Crecente Published June 28, 2011 -
Is Goldeneye Reloaded Just a Fancy Word for Rereleased?
Activision puts nostalgia-loving gamers in their sights once again, gathering a nice list of domain names revolving around something called “Goldeneye Reloaded“. This could mean a number of things are in the works: an HD re-release of Goldeneye for the Wii, an HD remake of the classic N64 Goldeneye, or maybe even a turn as…
By Sam Winstrom Published June 27, 2011 -
Annihilation Map Adds Five More Achievements to Black Ops
“Shangri-La” is the new zombies map in Call of Duty: Black Ops, and it is far from paradise, as that anthropomorphic s’more (above) will attest. Available in Annihilation, releasing next Tuesday for Xbox 360, it offers five more achievements worth a cool 150 Gamerscore. They are: • Time Travel Will Tell (75G)—In Shangri-La, acquire the…
By Owen Good Published June 23, 2011 -
Jamie Kennedy’s Still Sensitive About His Trainwreck of an E3 2007 Hosting Gig, Apparently
Jamie Kennedy, star of Son of the Mask, Malibu’s Most Wanted and Wii game Real Heroes: Firefighter doesn’t always deliver brilliantly inspired performances. See his E3 2007 Activision press conference hosting gig, for example, which he’s still really really sensitive about, according to a recent Twitter tirade. Kennedy, responding to a Twitter exchange between former…
By Michael McWhertor Published June 23, 2011 -
Another Look at Call of Duty: Black Ops ‘Annihilation’ in Action
The third downloadable add-on for Call of Duty: Black Ops, “Annihilation,” hits next week (for Xbox 360, that is), bringing with it four new maps and one new zombie-slaughtering “experience.” Want to see? Watch that video. You’ll get a new peek at those maps—Hangar 18, set in a highly classified military base of Area 51;…
By Michael McWhertor Published June 22, 2011 -
This One Goes Out to All the Ladies
Reader Bondage_Zombie has spent over a decade in video game drag. He’d like this option in more games, but not just for his sake. He thinks that there aren’t enough female gamers out there and it could be the developers’ faults. So what can devs do to bring in the elusive audience? It seems like…
By Sam Winstrom Published June 22, 2011 -
What’s in the New Call of Duty: Black Ops Limited Edition Re-release?
The Call of Duty: Black Ops Limited Edition hits Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3 next week at North American retailers, packing in one game and one token for “First Strike” downloadable content that originally hit in February. Cost? $59.99 USD.
By Michael McWhertor Published June 21, 2011 -
Happy (Early) Father’s Day From Prototype 2
Who’s your daddy… or what’s your daddy? Activision sent out these digital Father’s Day cards just in time for the big event this Sunday. Are you prepped for the weekend. I know as a father I expect to be carried around and fanned at all times.
By Brian Crecente Published June 17, 2011 -
A Look at Call of Duty: Black Ops Annihilation in Action
Here’s our first look at the next map pack coming to Call of Duty: Black Ops. In the video we get a quick walk-through of Annihilation’s four maps: Hangar 18, Drive-In, Silo and Hazard. Hanger 18 takes place in Area 51 and is packed with conspiracy-theory Easter Eggs. There’s a nice mix of close quarter…
By Brian Crecente Published June 16, 2011 -
What the Fuck is Bobby Kotick Doing in This Brad Pitt Movie?
This is a trailer for an upcoming Brad Pitt movie called Moneyball. It’s about baseball. And at 0:58, you can see that the owner of the Oakland A’s baseball team is being played by none other than Activision boss Bobby Kotick. Remember, this is a movie about baseball. Not video games. And while it could…
By Luke Plunkett Published June 16, 2011 -
Is the Third Black Ops Map Pack Coming at the End of June?
A tipster sends along that picture of that GameStop poster, advertising Call of Duty: Black Ops‘ third map pack, titled “Annihilation.” June 28 appears to be the release date. The maps are Hangar, Hazard, Silo, Drive-In and another Zombie map. We’ve been hearing that GameStop is taking preorders for the pack. I called mine here…
By Owen Good Published June 15, 2011 -
The Beauty of E3 2011
E3 2011 is over. Kotaku already showed 3,444 blinks from Kotaku‘s E3 2011 photographer, Isaac Viel. Here is a longer look (but with fewer photos) at E3 2011. This isn’t a recap of hardware you’ve already seen, but rather, a window in to what it’s like to actually be there—minus the exhaustion and fatigue. These…
By Brian Ashcraft Published June 14, 2011 -
Modern Warfare 3 Shoots the Lights Out on Jimmy Fallon
As promised, Late Night host Jimmy Fallon has kicked off his video game week with footage of Modern Warfare 3 Sadly, at least for the first part of the clip, there’s not much to see. Much of the singleplayer footage has been seen before, and the audio has been totally washed out by Activision and…
By Luke Plunkett Published June 14, 2011